Instructors administering final exam week/day activities are required to use the date, time, and location, if applicable, as assigned by the Office of the Registrar. This applies to both undergraduate and graduate level courses. 

Only final examinations and make-up final examinations are to be given during final examination week or on final examination days. Review sessions will be allowed prior to a course section’s assigned final examination date and time, provided classroom resources are available.

Examination periods are two hours in length and are as follows:

7:30–9:30 a.m.
10 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
12:30–2:30 p.m.
3–5:00 p.m.
5:30–7:30 p.m.
8–10 p.m.

While examination periods are scheduled for a two-hour duration, instructors are not required to use the full two-hour period.

The university is introducing new options for exam durations starting in fall 2025. This initiative aims to better align exam lengths with course requirements and improve the overall student experience. 

Instructors can choose from one of three exam duration options: 60, 80, or 120 minutes. Previously, all final exams were scheduled for 120 minutes by default. 

More information can be found on the Final Exam Duration Options page.

While examination periods are scheduled for a two-hour duration, instructors are not required to use the full two-hour period.

Beginning with final exams scheduled for the fall 2025 semester, instructors will choose from one of three exam duration options: 60, 80, or 120 minutes. Previously, all final exams were scheduled for 120 minutes by default.

The final exam schedules for fall and spring semesters are published in the fifth week of the semester (mid-September for the fall semester and mid-February for the spring semester). The final exam schedule for the summer session is published on the first day of summer classes.

Until the final examination schedule has been published and all make-up final examination arrangements have been completed by faculty, faculty and students should be prepared to be on campus until the last exam period of final exam week/day. 

When a final examination date and time are assigned to a course section, the goal is to minimize the number of qualified exam conflicts (direct or more than two exams scheduled on the same exam day) for the students. Dates and times are not assigned based on personal instructor/student preferences, what has been assigned in past semesters, or a course section's regular course meeting time throughout the semester.

When a university classroom is assigned to a course section for a final examination, the goal is to best utilize limited classroom resources. Classroom Scheduling reserves the right to reassess final examination room assignments to address any unforeseen classroom or course examination needs. These situations may include, but are not limited to, enrollment issues, building mechanical issues, malfunctioning technology equipment, and other similar events.

Once the final exam schedule has been published, all final exam assignment requests and changes require written approval from both the department chair (DEO) and collegiate associate dean (dean's office). All requests must include the curricular reason/rationale for the requested change. Approval should be emailed to reg-exams@uiowa.edu. Please note that even when approval has been secured, it may not be possible to accommodate exam change requests due to excessive student conflicts and/or a scarcity of classroom resources.

Change requests must be submitted using the Final Exam Assignment Change Request form. Only faculty and staff are permitted to use this form. Students must speak with their instructor directly for make-up examination requests.

If you are requesting a final exam longer than two hours for your course, approval from the department chair (DEO) and collegiate associate dean (dean's office) is required. Approval must be emailed to reg-exams@uiowa.edu before any scheduling will occur.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) has additional policies on the administration of final exams. For more information, please visit the CLAS Examination Policies and Best Practices page.

No formal final examination schedule is created by the Office of the Registrar for the winter session. Final examinations during this session are to be administered before the official end of the session. Examinations may occur either during the regularly scheduled course meeting time or at a time determined by the instructor in consultation with the students enrolled in the course. Examination conflicts should be handled using the precedence rules outlined on the Exam Conflicts page.

Visit the Exam Conflicts page for information on final exam conflicts, precedence rules, make-up and missed exams policies.

The standard practice of the University of Iowa Facilities Management Department is to immediately stop construction when that work disturbs an examination in progress. The faculty member in charge of the examination should promptly report such problems to FM@YourService (319-335-5071) or to the construction workers, asking them to contact the project's construction manager for further instructions.

View the Policy for Final Exam Week Reservations on the University Classrooms website.